Manmade Apocalypse and an Alien's Solution
by AnimeDreama
Summary: A young poet is found by 2 Yautja as 1 of the last remaining humans. Xenomorphs have taken over Earth, & now a group of teens, an old bat and a regretful old man & Yautja have to come up with a solution. How are they going to survive each other? Rated: M
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm giving this a bit of a dusting. Lately, there's been a lot going on and my mind's apparently just not interested in letting me put imagine into techno-paper. I've no promises my updates will be quick, but when I'm neither at work or otherwise engaged, I will be attending my stories. **

**Disclaimer, I own nothing.**

* * *

>Chapter one:<p><em>When the tides begin to form upon the summer earth,<br>The days begin to wander from coastline to berth.  
>Blood begins to flow from the wounds that were given,<br>From the heart that was shared and torn to pieces.  
>Upon the night the moon begins to bleed the blood of the immortals.<br>In which the stars fall from above unbidden,  
>Into the realm of mortals who desire power, revenge or eternal youth.<br>A travesty of desire so dark in it's wanting yet never found while living.  
>Wishes made upon the falling stars as the ashes fall from above,<br>Coating the world in a dangerous shadow where nothing is light or dark._

...

Lifting pen from page as the thought ended, the sharp eyes of a young woman lifted to the window of her truck. It had been double-barred and tinted to ensure no one could look in, but she could look out. She had modified it to certain specifications, most of which had not been done by her hand but during its upgrade – she had learnt everything she would need to know to continue maintaining it. She had run out of fuel just a few hours after dusk, and needed to wait for sunrise before she could venture outside to fill it up. Coincidentally (luckily) she managed to stop right outside a petrol station. As soon as she could, she would also pillage whatever supplies she could, or that remained.

Looking at the truck, an average person would wonder why such a young woman had placed such defences on it.

The truth of the matter was she lived in a time where humans were dropping off like flies after being sprayed by bug-spray. A plague of monsters now ruled Earth, although they possessed no noticeable '_government_'. When she said '_ruled_', she meant: utterly annihilated all forms of life other than themselves. They had taken over all the major cities and towns – at least the ones she had come across. Any who got too close, thinking they would find survivors: were never seen or heard of again.

The year was 3010. Despite all its advances that it had made over the centuries: humankind was still primitive in their basic thinking and wants. Needs were relative.

Humankind had also managed to birth the apocalypse – all in the name of science.

Some would say it begun with the merging of the two corporations: Weyland and Yutani. Since then: medicine, military, education and the government itself had become nothing but puppets under their thumbs. Basically: the head of Weyland-Yutani were the leaders of the world. They had dirt on everybody and in the beginning, they had the citizens behind them. Only when rumours of refugees and immigrants were being taken and experimented on, had the people started to doubt Weyland-Yutani.

Then came the leaking of a video of what happened to those people.

A screech pierced the dim sky.

She froze, casting another glance outside. Seeing nothing, she huddled deeper down in the truck. She forced her quickening breath to calm, closing her eyes and tried to stay as silent as possible. Something blocked the dim light of the moon – and she hardly dared to breathe or open her eyes.

She was invisible...

Long seconds passed... then she felt herself relaxing, but forced her muscles to remain as still as possible—something rammed into the truck—she clenched her teeth to force the reflexive scream down, forming a tighter ball around herself. Then... there was nothing. Glancing up from behind her arm, she found the truck still in one piece. None of the glass had broken. There were no indentations in the metal. But, she didn't feel safe where she was. As much faith as she had in her defence measures, she fully believed in Murphy's Law:

If something can go wrong, it will.

Keeping low to the floor, she crawled into a back compartment of the truck. It was easily accessed by a small door between the two seats out the front. Once she had slithered inside, she locked it and—keeping bent at the knees—tiptoed silently as ghost until she reached the small area she used for sleeping. A bundle of thick blankets, no mattress and a couple of pillows; and a few dozen soft toys she had kept to guard her as she slept. Perhaps it was a childish thing to do, but those toys had allowed her to rest her mind as well as her body. Without them, her dreams were left open to paralysing nightmares swimming in her subconscious.

Screaming invited attention she did not need or want.

Propping herself there, she kept her breathing even, remembering reading 'How to Meditate'.

**_Meditation should be practised somewhere calming and peaceful_**, but she did not have that option. She would just have to settle for ignoring any and all distractions. Right. She could do that. Breathing in, she tried to settle her mind. Tried being the operative word. Her mind was always filled with thoughts. Or, when it was not: it was only because she sometimes did not remember her dreams. Just a memory of darkness and feelings invoked by something...

**_Wear comfortable clothing_**. Her clothing style was practical and ensured comfort. She had that covered.

**_Decide how long she wanted to meditate_**. Preferably until dawn, perhaps a little after.

**_Stretch out._** Meditation involved sitting in one spot for a certain period of time, so it was important to minimise any tension or tightness, before beginning. She looked at her surroundings; she resigned herself to having to risk it.

**_Sit in a comfortable position_**. Comfort was important. The lotus position was the traditional position. If not, a posture enabling you to be balanced tall and straight was needed. She wondered how she was going to do that, and tried to remember how the lotus position worked. Then just settled for keeping her pelvis forward, straightened her spine and rested her hands on her lap; right hand on top of left.

**_Close your eyes_**: this was the next step. Apparently meditation could be performed with eyes open or closed. But she would prefer to block out any and all external visual stimuli.

**_Follow your breathing_** was the most basic and universal of all meditation techniques. You had to pick a spot above your navel, focus on it with your mind. Become aware of the rise and fall of your abdomen as you breathe in and out. Don't make a conscious effort, just breathe. She could do that. It was just a matter of calming down her heart so she could breathe slowly.

**_Repeat a mantra_**. Repeat a sound, word or phrase over and over until you silence the mind and enter a deep mediative state. What should she choose? There was the word: 'Om', which meant 'I am' in Sanskirt or there was the phrase: 'Sat, Chit, Ananda' which meant 'Existence, Consciousness, Bliss'. But she did not think either of those would help her mind in this regard. Perhaps she could follow the meditation, as she wrote poems...

Mind set, she pushed herself against the wall after covering herself with blankets. She grabbed her pen, book and flicked on a small light and throwing a thin blanket over her, careful not to let any more than she needed, escape her line of sight. Then, she pressed her pen to page, focused on that spot above her navel, breathed, opened her eyes and began to write again...

...

_Everything blurred into one mass of existence and the dead began to rise,  
>From their eternal sleep and plague the nightmares of the innocents sleep,<br>Desiring that which they do not have:  
>Life taken from them when they had whence been alive and breathing.<br>Haunting shadows plague the consciousness of the child's mind,  
>Lost in the sight of an illusion found only where nothing exists,<br>Nothing real, but cementing its presence so engrained in the thoughts of a mind-  
>So easily manipulated by promises of eternal entertainment;<br>No aging, no sorrow, no disease and so they live amongst the dead whilst they still live,  
>And tread the paths only adults should travel,<br>Eyes cast forward in transfixed fashion,  
>Wishing for something that can never be given or earned in time.<em>

...

Another ram into the truck broke her concentration, causing her to pause, her breathing interrupted. Instead of screaming, she placed her book and pen beside her and reached out for three automatic rifles she kept nearby. She placed on to her left, one to her right and one at her feet. She checked their ammunition one at a time automatically, taking it slow as she concentrated on breathing. They were full. She reached behind her, and hidden beneath her collection of stuffed toys was a flame thrower. It was full as well. She always made sure it was full immediately after it was emptied. She did not use it often. It was the last resort against the things outside.

They did not like fire. It was the first thing she figured out about them, other than that they were monstrous killers. But she could admit a certain fascination towards them. After all, they were graceful hunters of the night. She had always found such things intriguing.

She felt her heart slow as she breathed out again.

She felt her pockets and found a forearm-long weapon she kept in her pants. She held it out horizontal before her, and pressed a small pressure point—it shot outwards, forming a long spear with small bladed tips at the end.

No sign of movement... so she returned to her book, flipping the page.

She breathed in again, but she'd lost her train of thought...

Now she had another one...

...

_What does one mean when they say that I should talk about my feelings? _  
><em>They are irrelevant in the natural ways of the world. <em>  
><em>The Earth, at best, is cruel, unkind and unforgiving as much as it is merciful and giving. <em>  
><em>There is nothing here that makes me want to live, nor anything for me to wish for death. <em>  
><em>Death is a sentence I will take only when my time has run out. <em>  
><em>There is nothing here for me to live if all I cherish were to perish, <em>  
><em>A saying upon blood bound and heart bound bonds to a family related and unrelated. <em>  
><em>Love is an emotion I feel and fear to have, <em>  
><em>It is something I cherish and something I lock within the shadows of my heart, <em>  
><em>The deepest pit where even a single spark is engulfed in the darkness: <em>  
><em>Obsolete in the face of adversity as changes force the hand of connection of love. <em>  
><em>I want it. <em>  
><em>I fear it. <em>  
><em>I love it. <em>  
><em>I hate it. <em>  
><em>Love and hate: two sides of the same coin. <em>  
><em>Bittersweet as life itself, yet I can't find myself to leave it, nor live it to its fullest. <em>  
><em>To what purpose of this life to I serve, to live? <em>  
><em>To what purpose is living, when there is nothing that grand to live for, <em>  
><em>If not for the sake of staying alive for the sake of my family: <em>  
><em>A broken shamble of a shell of interwoven connections <em>  
><em>Deeply cut into serrated threads that are to be forever separated, <em>  
><em>Becoming nothing more than hopes feeble dream of living without pain or suffering. <em>  
><em>Cut connections waver between want and despising, <em>  
><em>Yet forever a part of the connected stream of knowledge of how it had been, had once been. <em>  
><em>The past is forever locked in the past, never to be opened again, <em>  
><em>Except to recount those times of the good and bad, <em>  
><em>With or without someone there beside me to hold me as I cry, <em>  
><em>Or to watch the shadows creep further onto my soul as I stare at an image that is plain to see, <em>  
><em>Yet a mask in which I behold, and hide the truth behind smiles and infectious insanity. <em>  
><em>Pain is imbedded within my soul too deep for others to see, <em>  
><em>A farce I created when younger and not as innocent or naive as I seemed. <em>  
><em>Lost was the feeling of connection, <em>  
><em>Gone was the feeling of connecting to mankind I saw as the figure in which I devoted my time, <em>  
><em>Whatever god there might be, maybe looked on in agony as I stepped further down the road in which I became hurt: <em>  
><em>Too lost in that hope that what had been broken could be fixed: <em>  
><em>But this had been no mirror, <em>  
><em>Even if I could reflect upon it all the pieces that had faded into dust <em>  
><em>As they ground against the pain within my heart, <em>  
><em>Which I kept so solidly within my heart: an unheard cry in the dark. <em>  
><em>The love for the feeling of kinship, an unrequited admiration; <em>  
><em>And into the shadows I merged as my heart broke by a fragment,<br>Each time a truth was awoken in my subconscious mind._

...

Another ram broke her concentration. This time, her hands started to shake, her heart jumped, pumping adrenalin through her veins like hot fire. Her eyes snapped towards the sound, but nothing had broken through. She closed her eyes, focusing her entire attention onto her ears to listen. She could hear her heart thud loudly, but steady. She could hear the subtle scraping of claws upon cement – and the taunting, fierce screech of a monster.

It was the sound that had been the source of her nightmares for many years: the strange growls of something she had only ever heard and never properly seen. She had seen the shadows of the creature, glimpsed its tail and glint of deadly teeth – but never clearly. Honestly, she was not keen to do so but ignorance was a deadly thing. She knew fire hurt them because others had figured this out and told her. She knew they could die and that their blood was like acid, because others had told her.

She knew how they spread because she had seen what had come from those eggs – and what happened afterwards...

She felt her heart rate jolt and hastily flicked page in her book. She needed to distract herself quickly. She could not start panicking.

Focusing, she skipped through her mind for a thought... and grasped one.

...

_Lost to the pages of history does history plague the mind,_  
><em>And my shattered soul that aches to be free of the darkness and bitterness it holds, with no avail. <em>  
><em>That taint will hold true for the rest of time, <em>  
><em>Causing the freedom of life to remain wary and suspicious of that which might come. <em>  
><em>A fear remains, hidden behind the facade of calm which holds me true in the face of the world, <em>  
><em>A still statue, head cocked to the side as it listens to all that is around it: <em>  
><em>Forever watching and listening to all the troubles, <em>  
><em>Unable to aid those it has come to love. <em>  
><em>Love and the connections it brings,<em>  
><em>A word with so much meaning and so much pain connected to its utterance, <em>  
><em>And numb to it I strive to be.<em>  
><em>Yet I find myself inhaling those free moments when it is given freely, <em>  
><em>And then when my fear has returned, I recoil and doubt the intentions that might be true.<em>  
><em>Pain I know and I fear its arrival, and yet I know it well. <em>  
><em>Well enough to find it strange when twinges that hurt strike and pull at my heart <em>  
><em>As if it had been struck by an arrow and pulled by its veins that latches onto the life that beats through me, <em>  
><em>Keeping me alive, and similar to those around me: a fact that not many see or really believe: <em>  
><em>Striving to remain ignorant of the fact that we are all the same. <em>  
><em>We all cry, we all laugh. <em>  
><em>Hatred and love plague and blossom in our hearts: and yet we can all be cruel just as we can all be kind. <em>  
><em>Humanity is an infectious breed upon the land, and yet it is a species in which I am connected to. <em>  
><em>A young breed: we believe ourselves superior to everything, <em>  
><em>Even upon the very Earth in which we plant are existence upon: <em>  
><em>The force that promotes our life far more than any president or leader could ever understand; <em>  
><em>Or even a priest preaching sin upon the hearts of humanity, no matter how true: <em>  
><em>Blind to the ignorance and bigoted ways in which he has entrenched his very life to: <em>  
><em>Blind to the hurt in which their beliefs breed hatred and fear in others; <em>  
><em>The same could be said for all others. <em>  
><em>No one is guiltless in hatred and pain to another, nor are they really ever guilty at all. <em>  
><em>The sins of the father and the sins of the mother are not the sins of the child: <em>  
><em>They are groomed to hate as they are groomed to love a single ideal: <em>  
><em>A way to live and breathe, a way to walk and how to live. <em>  
><em>A drone in the face of a society in which they have lived in; <em>  
><em>Susceptible to the very hatred and ignorance that their forefathers have wretched upon their souls, <em>  
><em>Or they may overcome such conditioning, and rebel: <em>  
><em>And learn to accept that which their traditionalist others cannot.<em>

...

Another ram struck the truck, jolting it harshly – and this time: two pained roars met her ears. One was higher pitched then the other, but both were equally intimidating and cause for worry.

Add sound to silence, it equalled attention multiplied by the X of unknown numbers out there.

Her heart beat frantically in her chest, this time her breathing accelerated to a point where she wondered if she was going to faint. She had experienced panic attacks when she'd been younger. Over time, she had managed to... deal with them and the problems associated with its trigger. They had lessened gradually but it was hard to talk herself logically out of her panic, when she had no visual stimuli to know what was happening.

Gritting her teeth, she forced her heart to slow down by holding her breath. She forced the fear inside to still, focusing on the pain as she gripped her thighs with her blunt nails. She managed, barely.

But she needed to concentrate on something other than the unknown outside.

She steeled herself and her thoughts and flipped the page, finding a strain and began to write again...

...

_Nature and nurture: a factor, a lesson in all things that come. _  
><em>Lessons founded upon and made upon that come from the environment in which we live, and the teachings we are given. <em>  
><em>Much is seen and heard, but the lessons may never be fully learned, <em>  
><em>For the human spirit is that which rebels and seen as dark and light as the mirror reflects; <em>  
><em>But the truth is in the eyes of the beholder for they know nothing, <em>  
>But <em>what they see and what they understand to be the truth and to be reality. <em>  
><em>So what is truth? <em>  
><em>What is reality? <em>  
><em>Are they just figments of a sordid dream left wandering the plains of no return, <em>  
><em>Where the focusing mind knows comfort, for nothing is to be focused upon? <em>  
><em>Images shape and fade as rapidly as they appear, leaving nothing for the mind to grasp to believe as truth; <em>  
><em>And so lies begin to form in mind and truth, as truth be told, <em>  
><em>Lies can make sense and can be believed to be truth. <em>  
><em>So what is truth? <em>  
><em>Reality is something that all of us say to live in, but what reality is true? <em>  
><em>A picture of the future that was painted by a dream, <em>  
><em>Or the harsh real reality of what it truly is: harsh light and hard shadows that burns <em>  
><em>And cloak us with feelings and desires both wanted and unwanted.<em>  
><em>As the desire to survive plagues our everyday thoughts<em>  
><em>Hatred, the opposite of love, and yet such a thin, blurred line is between them: <em>  
><em>Making them both one and the other, so easily being both and neither. <em>  
><em>Neutral parties exist in rarity in their commonality, and they strive to fall in neither category, <em>  
><em>But feel the burning hatred flare within their souls, tainting it with fire until it leaves blistering scars that will never heal; <em>  
><em>Or they feel the warmth of the love that is given so freely by those who accept all of that which a person is: <em>  
><em>Taking all the good and all the bad: <em>  
><em>Accepting every flaw without cause to reject,<em>  
><em>Yet nothing is as easy as it is proclaimed, and then it can be as easily done as it has been said. <em>  
><em>Innocence pure and untouched by the makings of society, <em>  
><em>Unmarked by religion: but simply rules of existence. <em>  
><em>What would they be? <em>  
><em>What would they believe? <em>  
><em>Would they know hate? <em>  
><em>Would they know love? <em>  
><em>Would they know of everything between?<em>  
><em>So many questions plague the mind, but none the more than this: the meaning of life. <em>  
><em>It is a question which haunts us all, even if we all deny it, <em>  
><em>At some point we all think about it even if in just a passing thought. <em>  
><em>Religions are based around creation, and then there are the scientific methods of it. <em>  
><em>To what do we put our faith into and believe? <em>  
><em>Hard as it is: so much evidence to contradict science, <em>  
><em>And to contradict science: there is so much unexplained and unexplainable for every answer it can give. <em>  
><em>Back to what is truth this question goes, and no one will ever know. <em>  
><em>Yet it pesters the subconscious far more than one would ever care to admit.<em>

...

Her hands were definitely shaking now. But not because something rammed into the truck again, no; whatever was outside the truck she'd been living in for a long, long time: had stopped moving. But, who (or more specifically and importantly: _what_) had won? She didn't know. But she hoped it wasn't that black monstrosity – the type of monster that haunted and hunted from within the shadows, and not just in a physical sense.

Shaking her head, she flipped the page. The wondering had broken her train of thought. Whatever books and pens she could find, were her only solace from the harsh world around her. It was what kept her grounded amidst the chaos she was forced to swim in, with no anchor to hold her up.

Her friends, her family and all that she had known, had died, been destroyed – murdered by those black creatures.

They had started appearing suddenly – very soon after the leaked video of what happened to those kidnapped people. The resulting panic had set into motion the Third World War, but within 96 hours – a truce was formed when something else began assassinating their own. And it was no human. It was kept quiet until a few years ago; she had not even started High School... when the end had begun.

Within 24 hours, the town she had lived in had been run over. She and a few others had been able to escape, but those things had followed their every step, growing in numbers quicker than anyone could anticipate or fathom. Chaos followed. It was every man for himself. All unnecessary baggage was rid of – people began killing each other to survive. Weapons, food and water were treated like gold and just as zealously.

She had been lucky, however. She had managed to secure safe travel with a group fleeing the city – within the truck she now called home. She had proven herself to be a valuable asset because of her sharp eye and keen ear; she could sense when the monster was close. Also her ability to learn how to be useful with her hands in building and repairing made her an irremovable part of their team.

After a year, she could safely say they treated her like she was gold. But a few months passed, and despite rumours amongst survivors that there were _'safe places'_ where the _'infestation_' could reach – they had lost hope. Town after town, they had been greeted with nothing but death, destruction and despair. Their numbers were picked off one, two, three at a time... too many hearts were beaten and broken. Too many people to look after and care for.

They began to give up. But not her, she would not, could not give up and just lie down and die. She WANTED to live.

Guilt spread across her chest and she clutched at the sadness in her heart. Life had become far too complicated that sordid night. She shook away the memories of resigned eyes growing smaller in her mind's eye. She barred the door against the echoes of terrified screams and flipped the page.

She breathed as the shadows were locked in the trap door, deep in her mind.

She picked up her pen, and began to write once more.

...

_In the shadows, fear begins to take shape in an illusion-solid state, _  
><em>Black blood crawls along the moonlighted floors while the edges dance and sway, <em>  
><em>Beckoning for you to come closer until you are engulfed in its cold, <em>  
><em>Merciless embrace until all breath is stolen away, <em>  
><em>And you are left suffocating as your heart rages a war against your ribcage, <em>  
><em>The only force that keeps it in one place, even if it feels to be rising to your throat. <em>  
><em>Nothing stays to be believable and all that should be believable is left doubted, <em>  
><em>Edginess arises, and screams get caught in your throat, <em>  
><em>And you are left unable to scream as you try to escape the clutches of darkness, <em>  
><em>But for something so smoky in substance, it holds you in a vice, <em>  
><em>Like the prey of an anaconda in its coils, its life being squeezed bit by agonising bit.<em>  
><em>And like the monsters with eerie shrieks and with no eyes to see<em>  
><em>The darkness is where they hide<em>  
><em>Where they entice your curiosity to come closer<em>  
><em>Before they grab you and disappear into the night<em>  
><em>And no one will see or hear of you again<em>  
><em>Falling shadows upon the horizon as the sun bleeds red <em>  
><em>As it is overtaken by the overwhelming darkness where the demons begin to charge <em>  
><em>Before the gate closes, and they triumph as they touch the earth, <em>  
><em>Turning it into ash and dust as the volcanos boil <em>  
><em>And explode their poisonous and toxic ash into the air, suffocating all within its path. <em>  
><em>Survivors are few in number; but all the harsher to suit their environment: <em>  
><em>A pure soul so rare to find, but all the more cherished amongst those that long for the light.<em>  
><em>But darkness edges the human soul<br>As we are but few in this world that has been taken over_  
><em>By remorseless monsters that are plague on all life<em>  
><em>They destroy without mercy<em>  
><em>They were brought to life by humans<em>  
><em>They are our end<em>  
><em>Humans birthed their own apocalypse<em>  
><em>And the survivors must make do with what their ancestors left behind<em>  
><em>Or die!<em>

...

As soon as she wrote the last latter, she marvelled that adrenalin allowed her to write pretty quickly. Granted, perhaps not as neatly – something broke through the doors at the back. Rage fired her veins. She stood, grabbing the rifle at her feet and aimed at whatever was there—but, there was... nothing. All she saw were the rusted husks of vehicles that had not been used in years. The clouds had cleared, letting the moonlight cast a clear vision before her. But she could see nothing that moved. Faint sizzling brought her attention to the corpse of a recent kill – a bladed tail and a clawed, misshapen and warped hand...

Her eyes narrowed and grabbed the flamethrower instead. She sent a burst of flames into the open doors – and something demonic was shown to her eyes...

It was a large humanoid creature with a mask upon its face, small carvings along where it mouth should be. But whatever creatures they were, she had never seen the like before. Surprised, she dropped the flamethrower and noticed a claw upon its belt – similar to both to the one on the corpse of that other creature, and the other monsters that plagued the night. Now she had seen what it truly was, up close and personal.

Twin wrist-blades fell into her line of sight. She stepped backwards – and then something else caught her attention... Before the creature could react – she grabbed her rifle, aimed and fired. An agonised screech caused the creature to turn around, where the black, chitinous creature had fallen to its death – a hole in its head.

The humanoid turned around and its blade vanished, head cocked to its side... then... it took off its mask.

The sight of a mutated crab-face with deeply-set orange eyes, caused her world to fold and plummet into darkness...

* * *

><p>As the ooman fell to the floor, the creature cocked its head to the side, trilling in curiosity.<p>

"Strange ooman," a voice mused behind it, in their deep and guttural tone – a bit choppy, considering he was speaking the ooman dialect as opposed to his species' own language. "She fainted at the sight of you, Kv'var-de, not the Kainde Amedha." He sounded more than a bit amused by this as he eyed this small female before them.

Turning around, Kv'var-de watched as his companion appeared as if out of thin air. "**She saved my life, Thwei**," he said in their language. Like Thwei, he had been taught the ooman language, but he had chosen two: Japanese first then had learned English out of necessity – because Thwei preferred it. He explained that he liked their expletives. Kv'var-de agreed English could be vary varied, but he preferred Japanese and how one could be formal or personal with another.

Thwei growled a reply as he leant down to do a medical scan of the ooman. "She appears to be in full health," he saw, poking the female in the ribcage. He marvelled the softness of her skin compared to females of his kind. He wondered how she had survived so long. "No sign of infestation, but she has many old wounds..."

Kv'var-de looked around where the female had hidden herself, and from what he could see: lived in. **"How do you think she has survived this long?"** he wondered aloud, echoing Thwei's thoughts. He noticed weapons lining the walls as well as medical kits, blankets, and a huddle of... stuffed animals? Blinking past that oddity, he also noticed a large water supply in containers and a smaller pile of canned food. There were also pages upon pages of sketches and fifteen books that, upon closer inspection – were filled with words written in the ooman language. There was also what oomans called: a pencil case, which numbered about three.

Thwei rapped the steel flooring of the truck with his knuckles, listening to the solid sound. "She probably drove this ooman vehicle. Until it..." he paused, mauling over the words in his mind before finding the appropriate expression: "ran out of gas."

"**That would explain why she's **bunking** outside this...** petrol station?" Kv'var-de asked, stressing the unfamiliar ooman words. Sometimes he wondered why their Elders were so damned insistent on learning about ooman society. Especially considering that nowadays, they were in trouble. From the looks of things, this had been going on for a few years. Enough time for most of the oomans to be killed off, but not long enough for them to be completely wiped – as evident with this ooman female.

Thwei nodded, looking up at the sky. "She was probably waiting for sunrise. It's easier to see Kainde Amedha in the day. Walking outside at night, on her own, would be too risky for her." Looking down at the unconscious ooman, he wondered how long she'd been on her own – suddenly, fierce screeches echoed in the air.

The two Yautja glanced at one another.

"We should take her aboard the ship," Kv'var-de stated, eyeing their surroundings.

"And take her belongings with us," Thwei agreed and started to pile the belongings together. "You can grab the ooman."

Kv'var-de rolled his eyes as he packed books, pencils, food, blankets and weapons together in bags that were conveniently nearby. Thwei decided to skip the... stuffed animals. They were unneeded. Crouching low, Kv'var-de grabbed the ooman by her shirt and plucked her off the ground. He placed her over his shoulder, steadying her one-handed before turning and disappearing into the shadows.

Thwei followed quickly, but his brow was furrowed in confusion. Even though they had been ordered to check out the oomans, having received worrying information from their Techno Specialists, he had not expected to find a combi-stick amongst this ooman females belongings. This... was worrying.

Perhaps this ooman could tell them more about it, and what had been going with Earth.

* * *

><p>'My name is Sherlock Holmes. It is my business to know what other people don't know.'<br>_-The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Gripping the gun between his hands, a boy in his mid-teens calculated his escape points. A sudden clatter of metal had him turning his gun to the side, peering into the half-light, but nothing was there. Anxiously, he waited for a few agonising moments, but nothing happened. Breathing out, he looked back forward. He had two options, no, three.

One was to double back and head for the roof where he knew the vehicles were kept, but his choice of transportation would be nothing more than a hover bike. He didn't exactly own a driver's licence, nor had his parents ever taught him. He was an athletic boy, but he wasn't marathon material. There were too many twists and turns that way... so that ruled that out. As for his second option, he could continue as he was going, but there was too much destruction and too many shadows. He'd be walking bait with a neon sign over his head, acting like a siren. As for his third, well... it was a quick escape but it was also potentially dangerous... but he had no access to it that he could see.

His name was Ajax.

Not your average name, but it was all he had left to remind him of his mother. She had died via infestation from the Xenomorphs, as he came to know them by. His father had worked in the labs of the Weyland Corporation; and so Ajax had received some rather excellent and broad info regarding what those black monsters were. Ajax had come to understand that they were simple: a species of destruction. If you were to ask those who worked in the Weyland-Yutani Corp, they would say they were the perfect species.

So, let's just say that the only reason Ajax saw his father was because the Court had demanded it. He hadn't been old enough at the time to object – and have his voice actually listened to. He was forced to see his father for X amount of time, whether he or his mother liked it or not. His father was also the reason he was in this mess – and the reason he was thinking as many derogatory names he could think of whilst running for his life!

He had lived in an area the Xenomorphs had long since taken over, but it was still considered a "safe area". It probably would have been too, if not for the fact a Hive had taken refuge in the city's sewers. Not counting, of course, that the Weyland-Yutani Corp had stuck a few science labs in that city fifty years beforehand. They had thought the Xenomorphs there had been properly disposed of...

Fact: no Xenomorph is easily rid of.

It hadn't been long before the first whispers of people disappearing had begun. And even less when the screams started when people realised what it was.

"This is absolutely crazy!" Ajax muttered under his breath, peering around again. "Why did there have to be TWO bloody Matriarchs?"

It had become known during the Infestation, which had led to his mother becoming infested, that there wasn't one Matriarch, but two. Of course, his father had been astounded – and to a high, worrying extent; _thrilled_. Of all the emotions that had ever crossed his father's face: he still had yet to see fear. Fear was not a factor in regards to the Xenomorphs that had become his fathers' life, his passion. Most people thought was a doting father who took his troublesome son to work, to teach him some manners, but Ajax knew differently.

Ajax was full of manners! It was just that some people needed to earn his respect, before he gave a polite please, thank you and excuse me!

As he was saying: the Matriarchs had grouped together to take down their adversaries – or in their point of view: prey.

Unsurprisingly, now that Ajax thought back on it: his father had killed any soldier who had dared point a gun at his '_babies'_. Naturally, Ajax had run off to the closest exit before his father noticed he was gone. However, it just so happened to be his unlucky day because along the way: he was met with a few... alright, _a lot_, of Xenomorphs. Except, these weren't your average drones. No, these ones were what his father called: Praetorians. They were amongst the strongest of the castes in the 'hierarchy'. Some speculated that they were next in line should the Queen ever die or that maybe they were the 'male' Xenomorphs and as such: they were hostile, ugly, bad-tempered and just plain annoying!

Also, they were out for his blood!

Why? Well, he had killed a few of the spider/scorpion face-huggers that they had tried to implant on him.

Could you say _touchy _much?

A fierce screech almost made him jump and drop the gun, but he noticed just in time – a window had been left open. Looks like it was the third option. Without a second thought to his health, since he'd rather fall out a window then birth one of those ugly eyeless bastards: he ran, building speed before leaping out the window... "Oh, shiiiiii-"...the water below seemed to spread out beneath him...

He hit the water and once he had regained his bearings, after a bit of tumbling, kicked for the surface. As soon as he broke free, he thanked his mother that she had ordered and pushed those swimming lessons, and he had become a champion in all those annoying child's play: he put the pedal to the metal (figuratively speaking) and headed to the closest bank. An explosion caused him to stop and turn around...

"What the hell?" he exclaimed slowly, gaping up an explosion, the kind he'd never seen before. It was much too... bright...

The only thing that came to mind was: that it was effing big and showy unlike human bombs, and how the hell wasn't it detected by the scanners?

He saw something happen – something opened up at the side.

Ajax suddenly got an ominous feeling of danger drop on him.

Eyes widening, he scrambled up onto the shore.

He didn't notice three black forms, and one large masked form follow him as he headed for the tree line.

* * *

><p>Mar'cte had first noticed the ooman pup when he had run past him as he waited for the kainde amedha. The young ooman boy had surprised him; and doing so: he had reacted like a pup on his first hunt – he had knocked a tin can over. The clattering noise had immediately captured the boy's attention and he had aimed his weapon exactly where Mar'cte had been standing. For a few seconds, Mar'cte had thought the boy could see him – then the gun was turned away and the boy was looking around. It was obvious the ooman pup was scared, droplets of blood covered his shirt, Mar'cte noticed, causing the hundred-and-fifty yeared Blooded Yautja to give pause.<p>

At first, he would have used this ooman pup as bait. But the pup reacted to the screech and headed for the window... and this told Mar'cte this pup would kill himself all without any help from him at all. The three Kainde Amedha tailing the pup propelled themselves out the window after him. Without a second thought, he pressed a few buttons on his gauntlet to detonate the bombs that he had hidden all over the ooman complex, and jumped out of the building.

He saw the ooman swimming towards the nearest bank. The kainde amedha were closing in on him until...

The bombs exploded.

The three pulled back, feeling their matriarch's pain for a moment, and Mar'cte hurried after the ooman pup.

Perhaps he would get three trophies after all...

Once he was out of the water, he instantly charged towards the ooman pup's direction.

* * *

><p>Ajax was cursing himself as he raced through the trees. The praetorians were still after him and were still after his blood. He had gotten very close to dying, more close than he liked to admit: but now he was down <em>one<em> stalker; but now he had to wait for his gun to reload. He had taken it from an observatory lab. It had been taken from a man who had survived the bombing of a town that had become infested with Xenomorphs. This was also around the time Weyland and Yutani had grouped up. Sometimes, they did their separate things, but mostly: they combined forces on certain issues that they wanted done. Namely: their aliens.

This gun he held in his hand was once such object of interest amongst the company and their workers.

It was also a gun that needed time to recharge – and from that closing in shrieking: time he didn't have.

"Bloody, fu-effing stupid idea this was!" Ajax growled as he came to a stop.

He was sick of running. If he was going to go down, he was going to kill himself while killing those ugly bastards that had taken his mother away from. Perhaps it wasn't the healthiest of thoughts, but when faced with these Monsters of Destruction, what choice did he have? He knew he could run the fastest and the furthest than most of the other kids in the complex, but outside those walls that had been his home: were other Xenomorphs. Even _if_ he got rid of the other two behind him; he'd have to face a more dangerous and older horde of Xenomorphs. The rest of the city that he had lived in only a section of: had long since been taken over.

If there _had_ been any survivors: he would have been surprised.

Other towns further away had probably never gotten wind of the Xenomorph plague. Only when a survivor telling ghost stories came stumbling into town would they know. Then it was too late: for that person would have been infected by the Xenomorphs and the plague would begin again. It was a repetitive pattern and it was deadly. He wondered how he might warn those who were further into the city that might have only been attacked within the past 20 years or so... or maybe even the past three months: but such thoughts weren't helping him.

A sudden thud caught his attention and a quick glance at the gun told him that it just-about charged.

Both of the praetorians were crouched before him, hissing menacingly at him.

Ajax's eyes narrowed.

They were _toying_ with him.

A sudden beeping fired through the tense silence, and before either of the two could react (surprising himself as well) Ajax fired between the two monsters, causing them to fly sideways in an awkward mess of limbs and tails. They both fell with a sick thud and crack of two trees that instantly snapped under the pressure. One got skewered, which caused Ajax to gap in surprise – but the other one was simply pinned under the weight of the tree: but that would last for long.

However, before he could even move out of his stupor to deal the final blow: someone or something – appeared out of thin air. Ajax stared at the back of a creature that looked down upon the struggling praetorian – causing Ajax to stare. "Nice dreads!" he exclaimed in a _manly_ high-pitched voice.

He was too wrapped up in his stupor to notice the creature bend down and deal the killing blow to the last remaining praetorian – and look at him. In fact, Ajax was far too preoccupied that he, a fifteen year old boy, had survived the attack of three, not one, but _three_ praetorians! However, he _did_ notice when the creature approached him.

Warily, Ajax looked up at the eight-foot creature, taking in the mask that seemed to have horns curling upwards at the top.

The first thought he got from the mask was: Gargoyle! Suddenly the creature moved. Instantly, Ajax sprung back but the creature was far quicker than he was: and grabbed his shoulder. The creature then shook it before pulling up a finger that it had obviously ripped off from the praetorian. It reached forward, but Ajax leant out of the way.

"NO WAY you're sticking that anywhere near my face!" he snapped, attempting to bat away the hand.

The creature growled and while keeping a hold of him, used its free hand to carefully pull out a few hoses on the side. A sound of whooshing air escaped: and then an ugly face (although strangely more appealing to see than a Xenomorphs) appeared before him. Ajax's jaw dropped as soon as he saw the alien face, but his eyes instantly fell upon a mark upon the creature's forehead (and trailed past the dreadlocks the to the fact that the creature had four mandibles, each with a small tusk at the end – and a wicked inner mouth with sharp teeth.)

"You want to put that mark on me?" he asked it, eyebrows furrowing, "Why?"

The creature growled. Its mandibles twitched as it seemed to think about what to say – _if_ it could. But it surprised him with: "You killed worthy prey. You receive mark, become Youngblood."

Ajax blinked. It was obviously _not_ a natural speaker of English and it growled more than spoke words, but it _was_ understandable. "Okay then" Ajax said warily, "but once I get it, you take me away from here and we go somewhere... _away_ from the Xenomorphs, right?"

Silence followed as Ajax waited for it to reply...

* * *

><p>When Mar'cte had first come upon the scene of the ooman pup – he had paused in surprise. He had been about to attack, since while he may be an avid hunter of oomans on the occasional occasion, he didn't particularly like seeing young ooman pup's getting hurt. In fact, he never harmed or just sat back to watch almost ANY pup get hurt. Save for a few species, he would usually step in to save most pups. However, something happened Mar'cte hadn't expected: the pup had used a gun that, now that he could properly see it was in fact: a weapon made from Yautja hand.<p>

How had the ooman pup gotten a hold of it?

Then the pup had aimed and fired between two kainde amedha that appeared – shooting between them and sending them crashing into the trees beside them.

What happened next however shocked Mar'cte to the core. He was almost tempted to do a self-analysis just to make sure that he wasn't going loony. One kainde amedha got skewered by a tree and lay sprawled on the ground as it died. The other kainde amedha got pinned by a tree trunk, but it was trying to escape. It was obvious the ooman pup was in a stupor, as if he had not expected that to happen and didn't know quite how to react.

So, Mar'cte uncloaked himself and killed the last kainde amedha and approached the ooman pup – who only reacted to his presence when he was hovering over him. Predictably, the ooman pup was cautious upon looking up at him, unconsciously gripping the gun tighter between his fists. When he went to put the mark of passage upon the ooman pup after he had shaken his shoulder in greeting – he was annoyed that the pup leant away from him.

"NO WAY you're sticking that anywhere near my face!" the ooman pup snapped, attempting to bat away his hand.

Growling, realised that it was an ooman pup and so he wouldn't realise what he was trying to do. No ooman would _ever_ be accepted by the Yautja unmarked – but even marked there was only a small chance anyways. However, the mark would show that they had been accepted by an Honoured Warrior; and Yautja politics would be hard pressed to upset such a decision. So, Mar'cte kept a tight hold of the ooman pup as he decided to reveal his face – and once he did: he almost laughed as the ooman pup's jaw dropped. He stayed still under his gaze; and saw some sort of comprehension appear in his eyes.

"You want to put that mark on me?" he, eyebrows furrowing, "Why?"

Mar'cte growled, twitching his mandibles as he considered what to say. He was only a pup, and to get the pup to accept the mark was a long shot; but if he was going to take the pup with him, he would have to suffer the pain. So, he might as well glorify it for the pup. "You killed worthy prey. You receive mark, become Youngblood," Mar'cte said as best as he could do with the ooman language he had learned over time.

The pup blinked, and then said:

"Okay then, but once I get it, you take me away from here and we go somewhere... _away_ from the Xenomorphs, right?"

Mar'cte allowed silence to follow that question as he considered how to would be more than likely that in the near future, they might meet circumstances that involved... Xenomorphs, which appeared to be the ooman name for the kainde amedha. He could not promise that the ooman pup would never see them again; but perhaps he could... attempt to comfort the pup.

Where was his sister when he needed her?

Usually: never around.

He returned his attention to the ooman pup as he shifted his stance, rubbing at his arms. The pup was obviously cold and taking a look around, he noticed that it was in fact: dark, which meant that any other kainde amedha around, would be more than likely roaming about in larger numbers.

"Can't promise you won't see kainde amedha again" Mar'cte replied, "but I take you somewhere safe."

The ooman pup nodded, "Never expected anything less" he replied, and then stuck out his hand, "I'm Ajax Charles. What's your name?" Mar'cte cocked his head to the side, trilling curiously at the hand that was held in the air before him. Ajax seemed to realise his confusion and curiosity, "It's what adults do when they meet each other" he said, "They shake hands." Mar'cte didn't move for a moment, bewildered by the custom, but gripped the pup's hand, completely covering the small one: and shook it. Ajax gave a startled cry, "_Not_ like that!" he hissed once Mar'cte had let go, "are you trying to tear my arm out of its socket? Jeez!"

Mar'cte simply shrugged, "Forgot ooman's were fragile," he replied, and then stalked away.

"You_... forgot_?" Ajax asked with a blank face, and then exploded, "Are you bloody kidding me? _You're_ an eight-foot pack of muscle; _I'm_ five-foot pack of breakable bones. Of _course_ I'm fragile!"

Mar'cte shrugged again, "You killed worthy prey."

"With a gun and two trees, _not_ my fists!" Ajax replied. He then proceeded to fold his arms over his chest and glower at a tree, "_As if_ you couldn't tell I lack muscle!"

Mar'cte _had_ known he had used too much force when he had shaken the pup's hands; but the chance to enact revenge on the pup for taking his trophies, had been too sweet to ignore. He had stopped himself from _actually_ tearing out the arm; but the whine in the pup's voice was enough to satisfy him. A fierce screech broke their chain of thought: and they turned to face the source. "Hurry pup!" Mar'cte called out, "my ship is close by. More kainde amedha come!"

"No need to tell me to run for my life!" Ajax replied as he started running after him, "but you still haven't told me your name, Gargoyle!"

Mar'cte didn't know what '_gargoyle_' was, but he disliked any kind of nicknames someone might come up for him. So with a growl, he spun around and grabbed the ooman pup off the ground as they ran. "I am _Mar'cte_!" he growled, "Blooded Warrior. Remember that, pup!"

Ajax nodded in reply.

When Mar'cte figured that Ajax had understood, he kept a hold of him as he ran towards his ship. Once there, he instantly contacted the Elder.

"Mar'cte" the elderly Yautja said, "I see you have picked up a stray."

"**_Stray_**?" Ajax hissed with narrowed eyes, still high on adrenalin, "_Excuse me_?"

"Silence Ajax!" Mar'cte snapped, "Yes, I request permission to bring him in."

"You already have permission" came the reply, "There has been an order to bring in any surviving humans. One has already been brought in. Bring your stray to the home ship." With that, the Elder was gone from the screen. Once they were in the air and heading for Earth's atmosphere, Mar'cte looked at the ooman pup.

"What does he mean by bring in any surviving humans?" Ajax asked finally.

"Kainde amedha are destroying your world," Mar'cte replied. "Oomans have broken into our temples where kainde amedha were hidden for Chiva. Kainde amedha are not the same. They are smarter and more dangerous."

"_Wait_, you're kind brought these things on Earth?" Ajax exclaimed, mixed between horror and fury.

Mar'cte glanced at the pup. "Yes. Once oomans thought of us as Gods. They were sacrificed to become hosts for kainde amedha for Chiva."

"Chiva?" Ajax asked.

"Yautja use Earth as place to breed most cunning of Prey that Unblooded must face to become Blooded."

"So, it's like a rite of passage?" Ajax asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Mar'cte replied, shifting a bit uncomfortably in his seat, remembering a certain Chiva that he had watched over in the year 2004.

"Did you go through it yourself?" Ajax asked.

Mar'cte nodded in reply, "All Yautja do."

Ajax nodded and then suddenly, he began to feel a little light-headed. "I don't feel so good…" and with that, he passed out.

"Pauk!" Mar'cte cursed as Ajax fell. Setting the ship on autopilot, he immediately hurried to Ajax, and turned him over. He was unconscious and having difficulties breathing. "C'jit!" Mar'cte cursed, "The air!" He had forgotten that the air he breathed was dangerous and poisonous to oomans. Luckily, there were ways around that. Humans had long since been slaves to the Yautja, some going so far as to take one as a concubine. It was not unheard of for humans and Yautja to mate… although it was usually looked down upon. So, there was equipment to aid a human to breathe air that Yautja's breathed: or he could go full-out and completely rewire the ooman pup's respiratory system, but he doubted the pup would like it.

So, he grabbed a mask that had been hardwired to perform the proper breathing atmosphere for ooman's.

Almost immediately, Ajax began to breathe easier – and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

Ajax was unconscious – and Mar'cte was concentrating.

He wondered what was in store for the ooman planet and ooman life.

Many Yautja would dislike one of their favourite prey to go extinct…

* * *

><p>'I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection.'<br>_- Sherlock Holmes; The Sign of Four_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Kv'var-de stood with his arms folded over his chest, annoyed. Thwei was going back to Earth to find more oomans, as requested by the Elder, which left Kv'var-de was left alone with the as-of-yet unnamed ooman female, who had yet to awoken from her faint. Thwei had found it amusing that the ooman female had saved him and that he, Kv'var-de, Honoured Warrior, now had to practically baby sit her – and owe her a debt. Orange eyes narrowed upon the Thwei's ship as it disappeared into the distance. Once he was sure he wasn't about to smash the closest available object, he turned back to the ooman.

If the female were to stand to her full height, she would stand at 5'7. Her hands were small, dainty and didn't suit the familiarity she had shown wielded that weapon. Upon entering the ship, Thwei had told him of the combi-stick she had on her. At first, his instincts had demanded he kill her for owning such a weapon, but he decided not to – as it was his mission to search and obtain a human _alive_. However, that didn't remove the curiosity of why she even had the combi-stick in the first place.

As Kv'var-de continued his analysis, he once again envied the ooman ability to see colours…

Suddenly, decloaking beside him appeared a familiar ship that – and with it came an incoming transmission.

"Greetings Kv'var-de," a familiar voice came, and Kv'var-de twitched his mandibles, "it's been a long time."

"Mar'cte?" he asked in disbelief. From the transmission hologram, was a familiar Yautja he hadn't seen for fifty years. The Yautja had his arms folded over his chest, head cocked to the side in his customary curious manner; and he was someone who Kv'var-de had held in high esteem when he was a growing pup.

"Hello cousin," Kv'var-de replied thickly, his mandibles twitching with sudden hostility.

"I have a ooman with me," Mar'cte said after a moment's pause, "He has taken too much of our air in and he is… not getting better."

Silence followed, until: "You need my help," Kv'var-de growled out, flexing his mandibles as he thought over what Mar'cte had said.

Mar'cte sighed, "I am well aware that you were told to obtain oomans. _This_ one needs your help."

Kv'var-de sighed, and against his will he said: "Come aboard."

* * *

><p>Mar'cte wasn't surprised by his cousins' hostility. The last time he had seen his cousin, was when he'd been subjected to a female Yautja's interest. This female had been Kv'var-de's mate interest for a very long time. However, Mar'cte would bet his best plasma cannon that Kv'var-de didn't know the whole story. In truth, he had refused her offer of mate-ship (which was a surprise amongst all Yautja since no one just refused a female). Kv'var-de probably thought that the two of them had mated; even if fifty years later, no pup the female birthed had come from his seed. Putting the past aside, Mar'cte returned to the matter at hand. Ajax was getting worse, even with the device that was pumping in the right atmosphere for him.<p>

So, when he had come across Kv'var-de's ship: he had instantly tailed him. Kv'var-de was far more interested in the study of oomans than the hunt for them; and so it was only logical he would know far more about what was happening to Ajax. It stung his pride, yes, but he was an honour-bound warrior. Ajax was merely a ooman pup in both Yautja and ooman terms. However; this pup had also become something that he had no desire in killing – or wish for any harm to befall upon.

A strange feeling he mused, but not unpleasant. So, as soon as he had permission, he quickly boarded the ship and realised that Kv'var-de had his own ooman, who likewise: was knocked out. "You have found a ooman as well?" Mar'cte asked, curious.

Kv'var-de didn't reply, instead he plucked Ajax from his grasp and headed towards the medical bay. As he left the room, he Mar'cte with an order: "Watch her".

Mar'cte snorted to himself as his cousin left him to watch over the ooman female. As he was curious, having never come across many ooman females, he approached the unconscious ooman. She was small and as he flicked through the vision modes on his mask: he finally came upon a setting that he himself had installed. It was a vision setting that allowed him to see as a ooman does. He had always found the ooman sight to be quite… interesting.

He took in her light skin. He noticed a few scars that showed past her dark grey shirt and her black shorts, which came to knees. She wore some sort of footwear that was durable in both weather and wear. Her hair was darkly coloured, with lighter streaks through it; and it fell in waves down her back. Since her eyes were closed, he couldn't see what their hue was.

Sighing, he sat down beside her. He might as well get comfortable while he was watching over the ooman.

* * *

><p>Ear-splitting screeches called echoingly through the deserted town that had long since begun to decompose. Old newspapers were strewn haphazardly, garbage bags blew with the wind and there was not a street left without cars and trucks crashed into each other's engines. If one were to suddenly walk its streets: you would not have expected to find human life… So a thirteen year old girl making her way through the debris of her small town – was a surprising sight to see.<p>

It was obvious she hadn't eaten in a while – her clothes were tattered and dirty, and her red curls were a tangled, matted mess. Storm-green eyes were wild as she surveyed the area akin to an animal that had been hunted by predators for far too long. She was bare-footed as she hopped atop a car, glancing around before continuing. If you had seen her before her town had been destroyed, she would have introduced herself as Sarah Buttons with a pleasant smile that always egged someone to smile back. Now: she was a feral human being hell bent on survival.

With a narrowed stare, she froze – ducking beneath a car that had spewed petrol onto the cracked floor, and completely covered herself in the smelly substance, lying perfectly still. She had long since learned the creatures that had come five months ago were blind. They didn't see with sight, but with other senses, particularly their sense of smell. They could smell humans and so she took to using chemicals to cover her scent. She also kept her breathing slow and steady – and hardly dared to breathe in the presence of one.

She had found this out – unintentionally – when she had fallen into a bath that her father had been brewing alcohol in. She had held onto her breath for as long as she dared before she felt that her lungs would burst, and threw her head back into the air. The vodka in the bath had shielded her scent – and when she calmed down and stayed as still as stone: the black creature hadn't even noticed her presence – dragging her dog behind it.

Suddenly - black claws clinked right before her head – and she didn't dare move her head. She felt more than saw the black elongated head bow down to sniff below the car before it butted its head, annoyed, against the car – before uttering a piercing screech and continuing on. Sarah didn't move a muscle… and only once the screeches had died down did she move – and even then she was slow to do so.

Quickly, she leapt to her feet with a glance at the sky – which was darkening – and she ran off again.

She had to reach the border of the town. She had a bag strapped to her back filled with lollies, chocolates, sweets and bars and bottles of water and bread. She had nothing else on her and kept herself light. She had to reach the edge of the town before night fell or she would be in one finicky position.

She was never aware of the nine-foot figure that shadowed her movements…

* * *

><p>Ju'dha followed the movements of the young ooman pup, her green, amber-flecked eyes shifting vision modes as she went, tracking the movements of the kainde amedha that had left the ooman pup where she was. She trilled curiously, wondering how the ooman pup had duped the kainde amedha. She had long since received the order to retrieve a ooman alive and since this ooman pup was the closest – she would take this small creature with her.<p>

Ju'dha was an unusual female amongst her clan. Mar'cte was her twin brother (a rarity amongst the Yautja, since twins were usually the same gender) and so she had the same desire to hunt rather than stay on the Yautja home world and talk politics all day with other females.

She was decked in her full gear – her mask resembling a ooman-world animal called a: tiger, which had mimicked the ears at the top. She had even etched in a few stripes to decorate it in her spare time. She had a skirt that was slitted along the left and the right legs, allowing her both movement and modesty. It was made of chain mail, given her amble protection. Her skin colour was similar to her brothers (a forest green and mottled), but hers was a darker shade and it was covered by fish-net – and a chest plate covered her top modesty, and shoulder plasma-cannon covered her right shoulder. Her wrists were covered with gauntlets and both held retractable wrist blades.

As Ju'dha followed the ooman pup, she did a medical scan – and was surprised that the ooman was in relatively good health. However, her scans showed that the ooman pup's primal part of her brain was startlingly more active than the average human. Perhaps that was how the pup had survived.

Mandibles twitching, Ju'dha leapt from building to building, catching up to the rapidly-moving figure ahead of her – and closed in on her target…

* * *

><p>The primal part of her instincts blared a warning signal through her and within the span of a second – she fell into a solid, back-breaking run as she felt a something land behind her. She did not even turn around to look what it was. She kept her gaze forward, her eyes looking for any foot holes or debris that might trip her… Then suddenly: she was grabbed from behind in a solid – yet warm – grip, and pulled into the air. She didn't scream, but started thrashing in hopes that her attempts would force her sudden captor to release her: but, no such luck. Instead whatever had grabbed her, tightened its vice-like grip on her.<p>

"Calm down, pup!" a deep, guttural, but strangely soft voice barked.

Hearing another voice, caused Sarah to still. Her breaths came in fast gasps as she turned fearful – yet hopeful – storm-green eyes towards her captor. A tiger-shaped, dark metallic mask met her gaze – and she couldn't help but gape. "Who-who" she coughed, having not spoken for a while (and on top of that she had been running), "Who are you?" she asked.

Silence was her reply before she was settled down before the stranger – and once she was on the ground, the four-foot-nine thirteen year old was dwarfed immediately by the height. The stranger was at least five-feet taller than her – and Sarah felt a flicker of fear spark in her core that warned her to run. However, something caused her to stay grounded where she was staring up at the strange… stranger.

"Do not run" the stranger said then, holding up his/her/its hands. "I mean you no harm."

Sarah nodded, and in trepidation, she watched as the stranger slowly raised (taloned and dark forest green) hand towards the mask. The stranger disconnected a few chords that were attached to the mask – and then slowly, a single hand pulled off the mask: a whooshing sound hissed...And there, staring at her with green, amber-flecked eyes was one of the ugliest faces she had ever seen (yet it was more welcome than those other monsters).

"Who are you?" Sarah repeated, and in some part of her mind – she knew that if the past six weeks hadn't happened, she would have run away as soon as she saw that face. The fact that she didn't, told a great deal about what she had been through.

"I am called, Ju'dha" the face replied, mandibles twitching as if in amusement as those deep-set eyes continued to stare at her.

"I'm Sarah," Sarah replied, waving her hand in her customary greeting way.

Ju'dha's massively-crowned head tilted to the side. Her… dreadlocks slid over one of her shoulders a blackish-brown in hue. Some of the tendrils had been tied back, but the rest was left to fall down her back. Sarah's gaze was instantly drawn to the weapons that adorned the obvious alien (what else could Ju'dha be?).

Likewise, Ju'dha was analysing Sarah, eyes taking in the torn and tattered clothing and the light-weight bag that (with her scan) had shown a few water and food supplies.

"Sarah" Ju'dha said and waited until Sarah's eyes had caught her own, "I am going to take you to my ship. Would you like to go quietly or noisily?"

Sarah blinked… "Go with you quietly" she decided instantly. Ju'dha had the expression of being taken aback. Sarah figured that she had not been expecting that she'd agree to come. So, with a smile, she took Ju'dha's hand. "Let's go" she said. "I don't want to be here at nightfall."

Ju'dha's mandibles lifted into what appeared to be her version of a smirk, and with a single uplift of her arm – Sara was riding on Ju'dha's back… and towards a new life.

* * *

><p>When one woke up after fainting, it was never a pleasant feeling. Frankly, she couldn't quite remember the date – not that she knew anyways. Time and date had long since lost much meaning to her. Gritting her teeth, she groaned and held her head between her hands as she slowly sat up. She was feeling more than a little disorientated, but a growl from her stomach told her she hadn't eaten in a while. Then, the memories of before slapped her mind's eye and she remembered what had occurred beforehand. Instantly, she was on her feet and looking around. She knew one thing: she was <em>definitely<em> not in the truck she had called home for a long time.

At odds with her situation, she could only ask one thing: "Where am I?"

"You are on spaceship," came a growling voice when she hadn't expected an answer...

Spinning around, her eyes fell upon a creature – but this one wasn't the same as the one she glimpsed before. In fact: he looked meaner and uglier. One quick look around told her that even if she ran, she wouldn't get far. He was both taller and had more muscle than she did; and she wasn't about to test her luck on experimenting who was faster. First rule of survival, she had found: patience and planning are the key.

"Why?" she asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. It had taken a while to ask it, but as it was the only thing in this room: she had no choice. Also, it appeared to be more interested in talking then using his fists... or legs. It also knew what was going on, so she _had_ to ask him eventually. It did not matter how intimidating it was. If she were to remain afraid and paralysed by everything she'd ever seen – she wouldn't have been able to survive.

"Because oomans becoming extinct," the creature replied. "I rescued another. One who found you, helping the other in… medical room."

At the mention of '_rescued another_', she stilled. She hadn't come across another human in a very long time; and so having this… alien say that one was in this spaceship – gave her pause. She may not like her fellow man because the apocalypse did strange things to people; but she still longed for social connections, even if she preferred being on her own. So, she folded her arms and asked the next question: "Can you take me to the other _human_?"

* * *

><p>As Kv'var-de assessed the problem, he realised that the mask wasn't giving the proper balance of atmosphere for the ooman boy. He sighed. It was of cheap make and he knew that he couldn't fault his cousin for it. Mar'cte was more knowledgeable in the killing of oomans, not that saving of oomans. In fact, Kv'var-de was surprised that the ooman hadn't died yet – by his cousin's hands. Suddenly, the ooman boy moved. Kv'var-de lowered the scanner and stepped back to allow him space.<p>

"What hit me?" the ooman slurred as he attempted to get up. Blinking, Kv'var-de hadn't realised that he had adjusted the settings… and the ooman was quickly recovering enough to come out of his stupor. He watched as the ooman regained his bearings – and spotted him. "THERE'S MORE OF YOU UGLY….mmmph!"

Kv'var-de had gotten a hold of the ooman's head, covering his mouth with his hand. "Silence pup!" he barked.

The boy nodded and slowly, Kv'var-de released him and then from the doorway revealed the ooman female that had saved him. She paused in the doorway, startlingly bright azure eyes surveying the medical room – until her gaze landed on the ooman pup. "Hmm," she hummed thoughtfully, her head cocking to the side before she approached the ooman pup, "you are younger than I had anticipated."

The male ooman pup scoffed, "Yeah, well, bite my arse!" he retorted. "I wasn't expecting another girl or anyone round here either! And he's not even the guy that saved me!" he added, pointing his thumb at Kv'var-de. The ooman female's lips twitched as if in amusement, her eyes crinkling up slightly. "So, uh," the ooman male said, suddenly feeling awkward as he rubbed at the back of his neck, "Do you know what's happening?"

The female shook her head. "All I know is humankind is becoming extinct, but I don't know why exactly the alien's have saved our lives."

"Cos oomans are favourite prey," Mar'cte replied bluntly as he leant his shoulder against the wall. He paused under the looks he was receiving from the other three, a bit surprised by the uncanny unison. Hurriedly, he raised his hands in the universal gesture of: I come in peace, and continued: "but we don't don't hunt oomans anymore. Wish to repopulate and save planet, save oomans."

The female frowned, "How exactly do you plan do that?"

Silence was her answer… how indeed?

Ajax coughed into his hands to still the too-long silence. Instantly, the girl seemed to jump, but go nowhere before she let out a whoosh of breathe and closed her eyes. Ajax figured she had fallen deep in thought. "Hey," Ajax said, and that bright-azure gaze turned directly to him. He shifted uncomfortable under them, but continued with his original intention. "What's your name?"

She paused, looking down at the ground. "My name?" she asked almost to herself. "I haven't been asked for many years. I'd thought I'd almost forgotten it," she admitted. Tilting her head up at Ajax, she smiled without humour. "I have no intention of recalling it up, but you can call me Raven. Everyone things they're bad luck and omens of death, but I've always found them fascinating. One raven saved my life, actually. He was an old bird... died a month late," she continued bluntly before trailing off.

Ajax blinked. "Raven?" he asked, incredulous. "You want to be called _Raven_?"

"And what is your name?"

"Ajax."

Raven snorted and folded her arms. "You're name is derived after a cleaning product, did you know that?"

Ajax bristled. "I'll have you know that my name covers a whole range of things from Mythology to Places!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I know that," she replied as if he was an idiot. "Ajax the son of Telamon, ruler of Salamis and a hero in the Trojan War, also known as "Ajax the Great". Also Ajax the Lesser, son of Oileus, ruler of Lorcris and the leader of the Locrian contingent during the Trojan war. Operation Ajax, which is the 1953 Iranian coup d'état. Ajax (missionary): an Arian missionary who converted the Sueyi to Christianity (c. 466). Ajax (programming) which is a technique used in web application development; Ajax framework, a framework for the Ajax technique; and Ajax (floppy disk controller), which is a floppy disk controller fitted to the Atari STE. AFC Ajax, a football club from Amsterdam, The Netherlands along with a whole ling of other such similarly named clubs. Also a Danish handball team called the: Ajax Heroes. A French Champion racehorse named Ajax in 1901 and Ajax II, who was a Champion Australian racehorse in 1934. You're also named after a few vehicles, such as: Ajax 1906 automobile, from Aigner, Switerland… also Nike Ajax, an American anti-aircraft missile. You're name appears in a few Literature and Fiction. There's a band named Ajax, which is an electronic band from New York City. There's an Ajax arcade game. There's Ajax, Louisiana. Ajax, Ontario: Ajax High School. Ajax Utah – a ghost town. Aspen Mountain in Colorado, which is also known as Ajax Mountain. Kanichee Mine, Temagami, Ontario, Canada also known as Ajax Mine. Let us not also forget: Ajax, the cleanser product."

Silence met the end of her sentence…

"And I think I skipped a few…" she added as an afterthought.

Ajax blinked, "How do you know all of that?"

Raven blinked back; "I read stuff. I've had a lot of time on my hands. My parents were rich with a lot of power. I had no need to go to school, but I went sometimes when I had nothing else to do: which was usually every day. Thankfully I was able to remember everything I ever read and I would finish every assignment within a day of receiving it."

Ajax gaped, "You mean you're a freakishly-smart person?"

"No" she scoffed, "I had no interest in science or maths. History was interesting, but I developed no real interest in the mathematical-science part of my minds abilities. My interests lay in sociology, reading and writing fiction. _Actually_, my passion is poetry."

"But if you put your mind to it, you could," Ajax pointed out.

"I suppose, but I really don't care for it."

"I suppose it's your choice."

Raven shrugged nonchalantly at his remark – and then turned to face the two aliens who were watching the exchange in silence. "So," she said, drawing out the word as she looked between the two large alien's who had gone quiet as they had watched the exchange "is there some kind of food or beverage that I might inhale to ease my ever-growing hunger?"

"Yeah" Ajax agreed, "I could eat a horse!"

* * *

><p>Sarah had long since fallen asleep. Ju'dha was left alone to her thoughts as she directed her ship to her cousin's, which had showed that Mar'cte was there as well. Her mandibles twitched in suppressed exasperation. Mar'cte and Kv'var-de both cared deeply for her in a purely brother and cousin sort of way – and she was usually the one who mitigated situations between them. However, at the moment: she was beginning to feel thoroughly fed up with both of them. They were going to have to get over the past or so help her: she would break their masks over their heads as she beat some sense into them! With a short barking laugh, she shook herself out of her thoughts and sent a message.<p>

"Ju'dha," her cousin greeted her on the screen. "I have not seen you lately."

"You usually avoid me," Ju'dha replied. "Because I have more trophies than you."

Kv'var-de scoffed, eyes narrowing at the light insult, but looked over it, "My scanners detect another living creature with you. You have a ooman with you?"

Ju'dha gave a grunted an affirmative, "She needs one of your specialised breathing apparatus. Mine is just a temporary solution to her oxygen needs."

Kv'var-de shook his head, "You and Mar'cte are as bad as each other."

"We are twins, cousin. We are bound to share some sort of likeness in regards to personality quirks."

Kv'var-de snorted, "Well, come on in. There are two oomans here already."

Ju'dha's mandibles lifted into a Yautja version of a smile. "Good. Sarah needs to interact with her species."

"Another girl?" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed and from the screen appeared a ooman pup who stared at her, "even you're females are ugly!"

"That's my sister!" she heard Mar'cte roar.

"Apologies, apologies!" the male pup screamed, "she's a _pretty_ _ugly_!"

Ju'dha snorted in amusement, "Don't kill that pup" she ordered her brother, "I like him."

Mar'cte snorted. "Of course you would, sister" he growled out, and the transmission ended as Ju'dha entered the ship.

She was quick to find the medical bay where she placed Sarah, who remained asleep. Leaving her to rest, she found her way to the kitchens, where she found another ooman female and a ooman male pup. Looking up at her approach, she saw the male pup turned a little white once he saw her. "Introduce yourselves," Ju'dha ordered as she stopped at the end of the table.

The male pup began to sweat, while the female just smirked.

* * *

><p>Thwei had finally arrived on Earth in an area where he hoped to find a few oomans or one ooman if he couldn't find more.<p>

However, it appeared that there were a few… distractions.

With an earth-shaking battle cry, Thwei charged into the midst of kainde amedha just begging to become his trophies.

* * *

><p>'There is nothing like first-hand evidence.'<br>-Sherlock Holmes; A Study in Scarlet


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, would you look at that: my mind has finally been reawakened. Now, if only it let me remember where I left my favourite jumper... ****Anyways, here we are. Finally, at Chapter four. Tell me what you think :D**

**Chapter Four**

Raven looked up at the female alien and introduced herself quickly. Seeing as she had so easily introduced herself, Ajax stepped forward and held out his hand. He saw the female's head tilt at his hand, much like Gargoyle had done before, so he explained the custom to her. Except, unlike Gargoyle, she didn't try to tear his arm out of his socket and instead, gave it a firm, gentle shake.

"I am Ju'dha," the female rumbled. "You must tell us how you survived."

"Sure," Ajax quickly nodded as he pulled away. "But we can talk as we eat."

As he stepped back, Ju'dha suddenly found herself inhaling the aroma of her brother's food. Mar'cte was, quite amusedly, very interested in ooman cooking. His favourite sport had been ooman hunting before it had been banned. Somehow he had found a ooman cookbook and had began to replicate dishes, which was no mean feat. He had even taught his stomach to withstand more ooman food as time had gone on. She had one particular memory of her brother eating... ramen, for the first time. It was perhaps her favourite memory.

"Mar'cte," Ju'dha flicked her mandibles in amusement. "You have outdone yourself."

"Mar'cte snorted as he came in with the dish, but chuffed heavily in amusement at the hazy glaze that swept over Raven and Ajax's eyes. "It seems the kids are pleased."

Raven smiled sweetly up at Mar'cte, but even Ju'dha caught the warning flash in her eyes. "Call me kid again and I will show you exactly how I managed to survive." Mar'cte's mandibles were flared in surprise and even his eyes had shot wide open. She stood up and took the dish. "Here, let me help you. This actually smells pretty good," she said as she lowered the dish and lifted the lid. This time, her eyes widened. "Is this spaghetti bolognaise?!"

Mar'cte nodded, recovering from the shock of a mere ooman female threatening him. "Yes," he mused, and then realisation struck. "You have tasted this before."

Raven nodded, looking down in awe at the dish. "Not for a long, long time," she said, only relinquishing it sit down. "But," she added with a grin that could only be described as cheeky: "you'll be judged harshly. You are competing against my... Aunt. And her spaghetti bolognaise will be tough to beat."

Mar'cte huffed as he started serving up the meal. "If you don't like it, you can have scraps."

Raven protectively hugged her portion to her chest. "_My_ precious! No one takes my food!" she growled and pointedly started eating.

Ajax was silent as well; too engrossed in eating to strike up a conversation or be aware of what was going on around him. Ju'dha was amused by this as she inspected the dish. She wondered how exactly she might eat this, considering her mandibles. She watched Mar'cte, who had taken to cutting the long, stringy things. He had apparently learned since those ramen noodles. She decided to follow his lead, but noticed that the oomans had taken to twirling the 'pasta' around their forks before putting it in their mouths. She was surprised by how much those little mouths could fit in.

Kv'var-de was also in no mood to talk, and so the meal was spent in relative silence.

Only when the meal had been demolished, did Ju'dha finally attempt a conversation. "You must tell us how you've survived."

Raven pointed at Ajax. "You first."

"Why do I have to go first? Isn't it ladies first?" Ajax exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation.

"I'm not a lady, so, that social etiquette doesn't count. Especially now," Raven pointedly spread out her hands to gesture at the room.

"Fine," Ajax huffed and then smiled at his audience. These... guys... didn't look at him like he was a bug to be inspected. His smile softened at Raven, who watched him intently with those beautifully purple hued eyes. He'd never seen someone with eyes like those. She was also very pretty. But this topic was also hard for him to express, now that he thought about it. The smile faded and he clasped his hands together, a solemn mood setting in. Raven frowned at the sudden switch and instead of walking around, stepped up on the table and crossed to his side. The unexpected move made everyone look at her, but Raven's attention was solely on Ajax. Under the intensity of that gaze that was genuinely worried about it, without even known him that long, Ajax almost teared up. He hadn't seen a look like that since his mother had been taken from him.

"I lived in one of the safe havens Weyland-Yutani built in response to the attack from the Xenomorphs," he began.

Raven blinked. "Those were real?"

Ajax nodded. "Messages were sent out on a secure broadcast channel People who heard it could find one of them. I don't know how many there are."

Raven's brow quirked upwards. "Secure broadcast? I take it only those who had access or were smart enough to hack in, could find this place?

"I suppose so. I didn't pay much attention. I just had the luck of being born there when it was still... Safe."

Mar'cte did not think it was luck. But he wouldn't say it was skill either. But the boy had survived all the same. But he had yet to go into more detail.

Raven locked her fingers together. "I always thought those places were a myth. Many people did many things to get there... some even killed to find these places." She shook her head, a more solemn expression on her calm-set features. "I always thought they were... well, bogus. I saw an entire town get wiped out. No defence is secure enough... _Nowhere_ is."

"You're a fatalist, aren't you?"

"The worst is always bound to happen, Ajax. So... yes, I am a fatalist. But I am also optimistic of my chances."

"So... an optimistic fatalist?"

"...Hmm, yes."

"Women are complicated."

Raven shrugged. "Anything with a brain is. Now, please, continue with your story."

Ajax thought he'd just been insulted, but shrugged it off and rubbed the back of neck. This next part was a bit more... discomforting. "What no one knew about the places, was that they were once used to test on the Xenomorphs. My father worked for them, but... he didn't stop the experiments like he'd been told. Everyone that lived there were potential hosts for him. He even used my... mother."

In the silence that followed that statement, a pin could have been heard.

Raven remained silent. She had limited experience with having a mother. The one woman who had come close had died when she was nine. She remembered Julia had always been cooking something. She'd always smiled and her laugh had been contagious. But most of her parental influence had come from a man.

But, she supposed she should show some sympathy. This was easy. She took Ajax's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She let go after three seconds, mildly uncomfortable. After having lived most of her life without human company, she was running mostly on instinct. Apparently, her instincts were to comfort and protect. What a switch from attack and hide... but she found she didn't mind it.

"Continue," Ju'dha urged gently. She too had felt the loss of a mother's passing and was too intrigued bu Ajax's story to prolong the silent conversation between the two oomans.

Ajax was acting uncharacteristically in Mar'cte opinion, but perhaps it was not easy to relieve the past for oomans. The boy seemed to steel himself as he swallowed thickly.

"There was something that surprised even my father," he said, and looked directly at the three Yautja. "There are two Queens working together. My father was ecstatic when he found that out six months ago. But, he hadn't been interested in killing them. He killed anyone who tried. I ran the first chance I got. But the place was already overrun by then. I made it to the outer edge by the time Mar'cte found me."

The Yautja exchanged worried glances. They had never heard of two Queens working together. This was... both troublesome and intriguing.

"Did you have first-hand access to Weyland-Yutani files? Did you ever download them?"

Ajax frowned at Raven. "Who do you think I am? James Bond?"

"A shame you aren't."

Snorting, Ajax folded his arms as he leant in his chair. "You have nothing against me because my father worked for Weyland-Yutani?"

"Are you your father?" she replied, cocking her brow and Ajax quickly shook his head. "Then I don't. I used to know an engineer who worked for Weyland as well. He taught me many things, like fixing engines and hacking into systems. My photographic, or is it eidetic? Well... my memory is apparently a freak of nature. I remember many things in great detail." She leant forward with narrowed eyes. "Do you remember anything specific about your father's research?"

Ajax shook his head. "He studied their behaviour and if their choice of host affected their overall personality."

Her reaction to that was unprecedented. She grabbed a knife and slammed it through her plate in a sudden burst of rage. Everyone jumped at that, but before anyone could ask: Kv'var-de was made aware of his ship's alarms. The third ooman was awake. He told Ju'dha as such, who although interested in why the ooman had reacted as such, she was more interested in her own ooman. She thanked Mar'cte for the meal and disappeared, leaving the others blinking at the suddenness.

"Ju'dha found another ooman. She has been asleep," Kv'var-de explained as the oomans exchanged glances.

Raven and Ajax perked up at that, following after Ju'dha after thanking Mar'cte for the meal.

Mar'cte didn't want to be left behind the Kv'var-de. He had long since learned that any intention he had in mending the bond they once had, was impossible. He had stopped trying when Kv'var-de had tried to kill him. But, before he could make a move to follow the others, his cousin was already gone. Mar'cte was not the sighing type, but he made the exception for this moment as he looked down at the dishes.

He should save some for the little one...

When Sarah awoke, it was the first time she had slept peacefully in a long, long time. But she had smelt food, and her stomach had erupted in a parade of angry grumbling. Feeling rested, she lifted her head, looking around the room. She was alone for only a few moments, when that strange creature appeared. Ju'dha, her name was. Sarah almost smiled at her saviour, but was startled at the appearance of two humans: a boy and a girl. The boy was in his midteens maybe, and the girl was probably in her late teens. Sarah quickly sat up into a crouch, ready to attack if she needed to. She'd seen too many people who thought they could hurt her.

The boy approached first, smiling broadly. "Hi, I'm Ajax! Who are you?"

Sarah's eyes widened as she backed away, unsure of what to do. The other girl seemed to notice this, grabbing Ajax to pull him back. "I don't think you should approach her, Ajax. She looks ready to tear you apart," she warned and then pushed Ajax behind her. Taking a cue from Sarah, the other girl crouched before her, head tilted to the side. "I am Raven. We're not going to hurt you. We're friends with Ju'dha."

Sarah looked directly at Ju'dha, who nodded. Relaxing slightly, she approached the girl who did not move at her approach. "I am... Sarah. You're not like the others..."

"You have met many others?" Raven asked.

Sarah nodded. "They all wanted to hurt me. I had to run and hide. They tried to find me. The monsters found them. They didn't find me."

Raven was silent for a moment and then sat down, keeping her eyes on Sarah. "How did they not find you?"

"They can smell you. They can't smell you in gas and alcohol."

"How did you learn this?" Raven asked, hardly moving as Sarah had crept closer, her dark brown eyes taking in everything about her.

"When the monsters came, I fell in the bath. My daddy was making vodka."

Raven nodded. "And you've been running ever since."

Sarah nodded. "I found people. But they hurt me. I ran away. Ju'dha found me later. Much later."

Ju'dha crouched down beside Sarah. "Would you like to eat, Sarah? My cousin has made food."

Sarah nodded and took Ju'dha's hand. Offering a small smile to the two others, Ju'dha led Sarah to the kitchen.

Ajax rubbed at his chest. "She's so young."

Raven shot him a slide-long glance, but said nothing. "Come on, let's go follow. I don't think... Kivardee wants us running amuck his ship."

"I think it's Kiv-varrr-deh," Ajax pronounced thickly, then coughed into his hand. "How the hell do they speak like that?"

"Aside from their lack of a mouth and perhaps thicker vocal chords?"

Ajax shot her a glare. "You're one of those anal-retentive types, aren't you?"

"I do not have OCD, if that's what you're implying."

"It wasn't, but if the shoe fits... why not wear it?"

"I should warn you that I like steel-plated boots. And I like to kick things."

Ajax ran on ahead and Raven chuckled to herself. It had been too long since she'd last had human interaction. She'd forgotten how amusing it could be.

* * *

><p>Thwei had battled through many Kainde Amedha, and now, he was following his scans. He had found evidence that there was a ooman survivor. What was interesting to him was that the location was in the thick of rough terrain. The area was flat, no disruptions in any direction. Everything had been destroyed, buildings that had once stood around the now lonesome house – had been demolished. His keen eye could detect multiple traps laid out. A few Kainde Amedha had fallen prey to these traps, he could see their corpses.<p>

He would have to be careful. But he was intrigued.

He chose a route taking him to the back of the house. It had relatively simple, but still dangerous traps, if he were to step in one. Lucky for him, his teacher had been heavy on traps. How to make them, set them, avoid them, see them and trigger them without getting caught. However, today he would be employing his detection and avoiding skills. He did not want to... scare the ooman off. The Elders wanted them alive, and if he happened to kill one... his mum would tear off his braids.

Getting his hair set had been enough.

Determined, he made quick progress, but before he could kick the door open – it opened up to reveal an old ooman aiming a rifle in his direction.

She was... female... and frail... and how was she still alive?!

"The fuck are you?" the old woman demanded, hunched over a walking stick, even as she balanced the rifle. "Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot!"

Thwei flickered through his visual options, but the vision before him did not change.

An old... frail... woman dressed in pale colours, but her heart beat strong...

How had she managed to live?

* * *

><p>See you guysgals next chapter :D


	5. Chapter 5

**AHA! An update. ****Ok, here we go a bit more into the old woman from last time. I have to say, I quite like how she turned out... And I honestly don't know where most of this chapter came from. But... I can't complain really. **

**Chapter Five**

Janice Taylor had lived a very long life, compared to the rest of her peers. The first born of ten children, she had spent most of her own childhood looking after her own siblings outside of working and school. She had left that in Year 10. School had always seemed redundant to her. She could learn anything she wanted from books and so she had. She was of above average intelligence, according to her IQ scores. But most of that knowledge had come from experience rather than sitting in a room full of adolescent children. Many people had described her as a bull in a china shop. She had the temper of one too. And she knew how to use bark, bite and horns.

When those black monsters had arrived on the town, she had secured herself in her basement. Some might call her heartless for saving only herself, but panic did things to people. No one thought staying would save their lives, and so everyone had run. The lovely girl from next door had also gone. Janice missed that little girl's smile. It so reminded her of her own daughter's. So no, she was not heartless. But she was alone.

This creature, however, that stood before her – it was unlike anything she had ever seen.

Not like the black tailed monsters, this one stood above seven feet tall. Dark-coloured, muscled, armed and imposing. It was definitely not human, but it had not attacked her. It had managed to evade her traps, which meant it was relatively intelligent. It was masked, so she couldn't glean much expression, but as it was leaning back from her gun... she had managed to startle it or make it wary of her.

"You didn't answer me!" Janice barked out, cursing her body's own frailty. Her bone structure just wasn't what it used to be. "Do you speak English?"

The creature shook his head as if to clear it, then thumped his chest and bowed. "Thwei. I have come to get you. Oomans are dying, my people are trying to help."

Janice lowered the gun, but didn't lock the safety back in place. Apparently he could speak English. If a little choppy. He told her what she already knew. At 83, she was on the verge of dying herself. But she wasn't the type to lie done fighting. So, she rolled her shoulders back to give the impression of height. Instead, her back cracked."Bloody hell!" she groaned, using the rifle as a cane as she held her back. "Curse my back! Of all the things... You say you're people are trying to help? How do you intend to do that? Just what are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes on the blackness of that mask. Thwei... paused for a moment. Then touched something on his wrist and started pulling off his mask; and the face that was revealed, made Janice feel faint. For the first time in 83 years, she felt like she was going to do a very girly thing... and faint.

And... she did.

Thwei looked down at her, his mandibles flicking in curious amusement.

"That's actually quite funny. I might do that to every ooman I meet."

* * *

><p>Raven was amazed by how much Sarah could pack away in that small stomach of hers. Though, it could be because she hadn't eaten for three days straight. She'd been foraging for food when a Xenomorph, or Kainde Amedha as the big-ones called them, had found her – surviving mostly on lollies. Ju'dha had taken her to safety promptly after, but she hadn't been able to get any food. She had practically started crying at the sight of freshly made food and had given the big, gruff guy a hug. Mar'cte had looked a bit uncomfortable, but had patted her head and given her a generous helping and a cup of water to wash it all down.<p>

Ajax had remained with Sarah, trying to strike a conversation with the younger teen. Raven, however, chose to explore the ship. Kv'var-de had offered to give her a tour, and now, they were standing behind the pilot seat. She could see into the void of space, and was amazed. Actually being inside the sky was much more impressive then the view 'down below', but it was so vast. She felt a little small compared to it all...

"Is there more you want to see?" Kv'var-de asked slowly. Raven took that as a sign he wasn't fluent in English.

She shook her head and then looked closer at the seat. "Can I sit there?" she asked, looking up at him. Kv'var-de blinked down at her, head tilted before he finally nodded. With a broad smile, she hop-skipped-jumped into the seat and held onto the controls. "BEAM ME UP SCOTTY! AHAHAHAH!" she laughed, turning the controls... and the entire ship lurched to the right. "OH MY GOD! WHAT DO I DO? WHAT DO I DO?!" Kv'var-de managed to turn the ship the right way and glared down at her. A blush ran over her face and she smiled embarrassedly. "Sorry... I didn't know it was still on pilot."

Kv'var-de shook his head. "NEVER... do that again. Understood?" Raven nodded and when Kv'var-de was sure she'd understood, he let her up. "Let's go back. I will find space for you oomans to sleep." He held her arm as he dragged her away, while Raven sighed longingly back at the pilot seat. That had been fun...

Looking at his hand dwarfing her arm, she tugged it back. He let go immediately and turned to her. "Where is the second I saw?"

Kv'var-de's mandibles flickered out a bit. "You mean... Thwei?"

Raven took that as a sign he meant the other she had seen first, so she nodded. "Yeah, him. I haven't seen him aboard here..."

"Thwei went off in search of other oomans."

Raven blinked and rubbed the back of her neck. "All these years... and you're finding more humans than I've ever met in a year. Well, actually, that's only recently. The last time I met others...," she trailed off and shook her head and noticed Kv'var-de looking at her with narrowed eyes. She took that as a sign he wanted to know more. She grudgingly thought back to that time... "I needed more petrol and needed to replace a tyre. And I was running low on food and water. Found a small town still relatively alive... but under the control of a bunch of thugs. They were mean, ugly and tough and had a habit of beating the shit out of anyone who didn't do as they said. I didn't... pay up, so to speak. I was there for an entire week..."

Kv'var-de stepped back from the ooman to take a closer look. "Did you defeat them?"

There was a long pause, then... "Not on the first day."

Kv'var-de took her to the observation deck and indicated to one of the seats. "Explain."

Her brow quirked up. "This a thing with your people? My people are not as well-versed in rehashing painful experiences. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious condition. Coupled with previous anxiety issues and tendencies for panic attacks..." Raven breathed roughly in and held her breath for three seconds. She let it out and fell onto the seat. "You do not strike me as someone who panics. _I_ panic. _A lot_. My stress levels are high. _Always_ high. I am not the relaxing type. Where are my pencils? _I need to write_!"

Kv'var-de gestured in the general direction of the medical room. "Back in the room you woke up in." He held up his hand, pinning her back to the seat. "Now, explain."

Her hands began to shake, her heart thudded, her throat was tight... dots flooded her vision.

Kv'var-de was surprised when Raven fell back into the chair, limp and unmoving...

* * *

><p>Sarah had not felt so full in a long time. Her belly was full and her tastebuds were singing and she wasn't thirsty. However, the best thing was... she wasn't alone. Ju'dha had yet to leave her side since she'd woken up. She liked that. The one called Kv'var-de, she had learned had helped her breathe properly. The mask covering the lower half of her mouth... filtered the air so she could breathe. She could take it off every so often, but had to remember to put it back to breathe the right air. Sarah hadn't learned any more about him; just that he was Ju'dha's cousin. Mar'cte was the other one, the one who had cooked the delicious food. Sarah didn't know quite what to think of him. He came off scary, but it had seemed more like he was more wary of her than she was of him.<p>

As for her fellow humans; she was still in the air.

She had been on the run for a long enough time; she had come to recognise what she could only describe as people's 'auras'. It was... instinct. She could sense if someone would hurt her, and who would not. This had helped her as she had travelled aboveground, even during the night. Strongholds for shelter were hard to come by. The monsters were strong, sneaky and everywhere. Sometimes she stayed awake all night, unable to sleep, too scared to. She had learned the signs that said there were monsters in cities and would skirt the edges. Sometimes, the 'take over' had not yet happened and she could visit a town for a while. She never stayed though.

She had already learnt that lesson. Experience had made her wary and careful, but meeting Ajax and Raven had surprised her.

Raven, Sarah felt, was a creature of depth. There was shadow, sadness and cruelty within her, but Sarah felt within her, a deep empathy, curiosity and longing. For what? Sarah did not know. She wasn't psychic. Sarah's mother had always proclaimed she had the ability to 'see death'. Sarah wasn't sure if it was ironic or not, that her mother had never seen death creeping up on them from behind – on the entire town.

As for Ajax... Sarah found him to be a creature that liked testing boundaries and get reactions. It was amusing, watching him with Mar'cte. It was as if he didn't care that Mar'cte could kill him swiftly any second. Maybe he was a daredevil... But he didn't appear to be suicidal. Maybe her instincts were wrong. He was... a paradox. Yeah, that fit him. He was a paradox. He came off as cocky, but near her... he was nervous. She wondered why.

"Are you going to eat that?" Ajax asked, interrupting her thoughts. Sarah blinked up at him. She'd forgotten he was there. She shook her head and pushed the plate his way, but he held up his hand. "Nah, I'm stuffed. You just looked a little lost in your thoughts there. Thought I'd bring you back to the world of the living."

Sarah frowned at him, about to open her mouth to speak when...

"**MAR'CTE!**"

The sheer fierceness of the summoning roar had Sarah leaping atop the table, holding the knives in front of her – and Ajax spun about, aiming the gun he'd taken back from Mar'cte secretly, aiming in front of him. Ju'dha and Mar'cte, however, only jumped and then exchanged glances.

Mar'cte eyed his sister warily. **"Why are you looking at me like that?"**

Ju'dha's mandibles flickered in an agitated rhythm. **"What did you do?"**

Mar'cte held up his hands. **"Nothing. I am as innocent as a suckling."**

Ju'dha's brows lifted and she folded her arms in disbelief. **"If mother were here to hear that..."**

**"She'd skin me alive and use only my teeth as a trophy." **Mar'cte snorted and looked back at his sister, who did not look amused. He dropped the dish he'd been cleaning and settled a semi-submissive posture before her. Ju'dha had inherited their mother's temper. "**I am honest, sister. I haven't done anything. I don't know why Kv'var-de yelled my name either. He goes to great lengths to avoid me. I'm only allowed temporary residence here because of the ooman," **he added, gesturing to Ajax.

Ju'dha agreed with that and then glanced at Ajax and Sarah, who were watching in curious confusion. "We are speaking our language," she explained to them, then turned to her twin.** "Go to him. It's obviously something important. I'll take care of the oomans."**

Mar'cte rolled his shoulders and considered taking his ooman with him as a shield, but dismissed it immediately. He was no pup. So, nodding to his sister, retook the gun from Ajax as he walked passed, who yelled out something that he didn't quite understand, but cringed when Ju'dha uttered a warning growl. So, apparently the ooman had said something... naughty.

Picking his way through the ship, he eventually found where Kv'var-de's voice had come from. And lying on the ground behind the pilot seat... was Raven. Mar'cte's mandibles flickered in confusion as he stared down at her lip form. There was a worried expression on Kv'var-de's, but also confusion as well_. "**You called?"**_ Mar'cte asked, folding his arms.

Kv'var-de gestured to Raven.** "I asked her a question and she suddenly fell... You know more about oomans then me. What is wrong with her?"**

Mar'cte took this in and walked around his cousin, leaning over the ooman. He touched her neck and found her pulse was steady and her skin warm. But not alarmingly so. His mandibles pulled into a frown and turned back to Kv'var-de. **"Tell me what happened before she fell. _Everything_**." Kv'var-de recalled the shakiness of her limbs and the heavy breathing, and told this to him. Mar'cte huffed as he recalled the same thing happening to many oomans**. "She fainted. It is what happens when some oomans express high levels of stress. She will be fine. She just needs to rest."** Plucking her from the chair, Mar'cte gathered her carefully to his chest and stepped back, looking at his cousin. **"Where should I put her?"**

Part of Kv'var-de marvelled that Mar'cte sounded more formal when speaking their native tongue... but spun on his heel to head for the quarters that had once belonged to Mar'cte. If his cousin realised this, he didn't say a word but he headed for the bedroom with remembered ease. Mar'cte was half-aware that Kv'var-de strayed outside the quarters and used one hand to pull the sheets down. Pressing one knee into the bed, he bent down and gently lowered to ooman into the bed.

As soon as he released her, she curled around and twisted into a protective ball.

...And taking his arm with her.

He blinked, surprised by the strength of the grip. He tried pulling his arm away without waking her, but one especially forceful pull made her frown. He stilled immediately, but had ended up partially leaning over her. He found himself holding his breath as she shook her head and uncurled, twisting towards him. He found himself staring for reasons unknown. Perhaps it was because he had never seen a ooman so... peaceful. He waited a few moments more than pushed away, idly noting she had smelt of earth and smoke.

Quietly perturbed, Mar'cte left the ooman to rest.

Kv'var-de, watching him leave, wondered why it was with such haste...

* * *

><p>Ajax looked down at Raven, who lay sound asleep. Apparently, the three of them would be sharing a room until Kv'var-de's ship was refitted for them. The quarters they were in were very large. It would be easy work to reconvert into a three-bedroom apartment. He'd heard Kv'var-de mention something about 'environment', so he figured the guy was going to make this room compatible for human atmosphere, which was a good thing. These masks were going to be annoying to constantly keep on. Ju'dha had mentioned there was a possibility they could adapt to the air, but since it was higher in nitrogen, he doubted. It was more likely they'd build up a tolerance. But even the big guys had kept their on their masks on Earth. Here, they had removed them, which was more than a little... overwhelming.<p>

The masks gave them the impression that they were humanlike than they were. Their faces were utterly terrifyingly ugly.

Sighing, he gripped the roots of his hair, turned and sat down on the edge of the bed. Suddenly, he felt tired. The constant poking and teasing had been his way of dealing with all this... chaos. He breathed in and held it, trying to calm down. He leant forward, this time grabbing the edge of the bed. Sarah had fallen asleep earlier, curled against Raven. She had questioned herself out loud if she'd be able to sleep. But apparently Raven was a calming presence, pulling Sarah quickly into a peaceful slumber.

Ajax... hadn't been as lucky. The silence was doing wonders for his head. Looping thoughts, morbid and recurring like a bad dream... except he was awake.

Looking around, he turned back to his two companions, and found Raven's azure eyes staring at him."You moved the blankets," she spoke drowsily, trying to get up only to frown down at an unexpected weight. Sarah was using her chest as a pillow. Gently, Raven manoeuvred her onto the mattress and sat up. More alert now, Raven crawled to Ajax's side and sat beside him. "

"I did," he confirmed tonelessly.

For a moment, Raven looked at him silently and, unable to bear looking in her eyes, he turned away. There was silence for a few heartbeats, and then an arm wrapped around his shoulders, bringing close to her warmth. Ajax . ?docid=40571991oze as she pressed a warm, soft kiss to his temple. Then, in a soft, gentle voice, she whispered: "Hear my whisper. Hear my plea. Never stray too far from me. Lost inside, hidden in doubts. I have come to pull you out. You wear a façade, a mask of steel. I will break it and make you feel."

Between her soft voice and the warmth of her comfort, Ajax returned the embrace, crying freely until sleep finally claimed him.

* * *

><p>So, there you all go. Hopefully my muse doesn't abandon me so I can keep the chapters coming.<p>

And to those who've enjoyed and read this, Thank you :D You're all awesome.


End file.
